


Cold

by PeroxidePirate



Series: Seasons [2]
Category: Tortall - Pierce
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-12
Updated: 2010-04-12
Packaged: 2017-10-08 21:59:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/79924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeroxidePirate/pseuds/PeroxidePirate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alanna makes a questionable decision, after Kel makes a poor one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  
The first snowstorm of the winter blew up out of nowhere, and Alanna heard that the other lady knight was riding in the Royal Forest.

“Overgrown idiot,” she muttered, donning the fleece-lined trousers and jacket Kel's Lalasa had made for her (and yes, no matter the particulars of their relationship, it was clear enough that Lalasa saw herself as belonging to Kel, in some fashion).

Alanna later admitted there was no real reason for her to go after Kel. But at the time, wrapping herself in every piece of warm clothing she owned, saddling her horse, and riding out in search of Kel seemed like the only possible course of action.


	2. Chapter 2

“Lady Alanna?” Kel blinked snow out of her eyes, certain she was hallucinating. No, the Lioness was still there, and coming closer. “It's winter.”

“As it generally is, after fall.” Half of Alanna's face was hidden behind a scarf, but Kel could see the amusement in her eyes.

“But you hate the cold. Why...” Kel stopped talking when her teeth began to chatter.

“I'm here because you are,” Alanna said, nudging her horse close enough to wrap one gloved hand around Kel's bicep. “What made you venture out here on a day like this?”

“It wasn't a day like this,” Kel explained, patiently. Warmth flooded her – Alanna's magic, evidently. “It was mild enough until two hours ago. Then it went and got cold.”

“Well,” Alanna said, eyes crinkling in what had to be a grin, “lucky I know what to do about that.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Shouldn't we be going back to the palace?” Kel asked, as she followed the other lady knight through the forest.

“It's too far,” Alanna snapped. “I don't have enough gift to keep us warm all that way. We need to rest first.”

“You don't have to use any of your gift on me.”

“Don't be plaintive, girl. You've been out here all day, haven't you? The cold's going to your head. You – and your horse – need the warmth most.”

“Oh,” Kel said, subsiding. She hadn't thought of Hoshi.

“Here we are.” They stepped beneath a huge, stately tree, where nothing else grew. The ground was carpeted with a soft blanket of natural mulch, and only a little snow had blown in around the edges. There was room enough for the horses, just on one side of the tree. On the other side, near the edge of the area protected by the tree's branches, was a clear area for a building a fire. As Kel slid from Hoshi's back, Alanna went to work, setting up a simple camp.

“Here now,” Alanna said, laying out a bedroll beside the fire. “Crawl inside and get warm, so I can stop wasting magic on you.”

Meekly, Kel complied.


	4. Chapter 4

When Kel woke, she was warm. Crowded and cramped, yes, but plenty warm. Her first thought was of Jump, who tended to curl into her belly on cold nights, and she ran a hand over his head.

It wasn't his head.

The hair was longer, for one thing. And whoever was sharing her bedroll was wearing a shirt.

Bedroll.

She wasn't home at the palace. She was in the Royal Forest – she'd been getting in a last long ride before winter came, but she'd been a day too late. The storm had caught her, and Lady Alanna had come looking for her. And found her, and kept her warm. And, apparently, crawled into the bedroll along with her.

“Alanna?” Kel whispered.

“Oh, let me sleep,” came the prickly reply. And the other woman snuggled right into her arms, as though it was the most normal thing in the world.


End file.
